Know your neighbour: implications of plant-microbe interactions under intercropping

Intercropping, the practice of cultivating multiple crops simultaneously, could increase sustainability by supporting biodiversity and maintaining crop production under changing climates. While the aboveground benefits of intercropping are increasingly understood, much less is known about the effects on the billions of microorganisms living in soil, and how these microorganisms in turn affect plants. 
This thesis investigated how different forms of intercropping influence soil bacteria and fungi, and whether these changes affected plant growth and disease suppression. We found that the effect of intercropping on soil microorganisms depends strongly on the plant species, soil condition, and time of year. In some cases, plant diversity changed the structure of the microbial community, while the diversity of microorganisms remained unchanged. Lastly, we found that intercropping can alter the severity and persistence of a soil-borne pathogen. These findings suggest that the soil microbiome can be a complementary aspect of future intercropping practices.